DAS last week, biking not for me?
Discussion
So last week I took my CBT and DAS, culminating in passing my Mod 1 & 2 on Friday. However, after a week of riding around in variously snow, wind, rain, ice and (occasionally) sunshine, I have come away not in love with biking (as my biking friends suggested I would.
Seemed to be very hard work to travel around in discomfort whilst feeling paranoid about everyone else on the road, on a machine that doesn’t seem entirely on your side (nasty moment on damp leaves highlighted how good 4 wheels can be).
So, at the moment that’s it for me and motorcycling. Am I wrong to give up before I’ve started? I now can’t imagine how I’d change my mind - I have no gear so can’t test ride anything to see if a different bike would make a difference (restricted er6n used for learning), and buying kit now seems like a potentially massive waste of money.
Seemed to be very hard work to travel around in discomfort whilst feeling paranoid about everyone else on the road, on a machine that doesn’t seem entirely on your side (nasty moment on damp leaves highlighted how good 4 wheels can be).
So, at the moment that’s it for me and motorcycling. Am I wrong to give up before I’ve started? I now can’t imagine how I’d change my mind - I have no gear so can’t test ride anything to see if a different bike would make a difference (restricted er6n used for learning), and buying kit now seems like a potentially massive waste of money.
Even experienced riders would find it hard to get enjoyment out of current riding conditions. Wait until spring comes round and pick up where you left off, then I think you will start to enjoy it. Once you gain more experience you will then worry less about what could happen to you.
I normally avoid riding when it is icy but otherwise commute by bike all year, it's great being able to filter through the traffic.
I normally avoid riding when it is icy but otherwise commute by bike all year, it's great being able to filter through the traffic.
Congrats on the DAS pass.
I did DAS several years back. I have zero interest in riding in the winter. I just don't see the fun in it. Guess you were just itching to get out there but for me it would be wait until the spring and crack on. It will seem like a different world. If you want to ride on into the following winter you will have gained a wealth of general riding experience by then.
I did DAS several years back. I have zero interest in riding in the winter. I just don't see the fun in it. Guess you were just itching to get out there but for me it would be wait until the spring and crack on. It will seem like a different world. If you want to ride on into the following winter you will have gained a wealth of general riding experience by then.
All the above. No-one rides at this time of year in the UK for fun... I do 180 miles a week commuting and zero pleasure miles. The last 'fun' ride I went on was months ago.
OK, the occasional dry day can be OK, but the roads don't really dry, they're slippery as hell, the damp salty road film covers everything.
Oh and riding in 3-4 degrees without proper kit is not only stupid, but dangerous.
Wait until Spring, then try again. Or ride on a day when the roads are actually dry. Even then your tyres won't heat up enough to have any fun.
Riding in summer is worlds apart from winter riding. You've picked the worse time of year to start riding for fun.
OK, the occasional dry day can be OK, but the roads don't really dry, they're slippery as hell, the damp salty road film covers everything.
Oh and riding in 3-4 degrees without proper kit is not only stupid, but dangerous.
Wait until Spring, then try again. Or ride on a day when the roads are actually dry. Even then your tyres won't heat up enough to have any fun.
Riding in summer is worlds apart from winter riding. You've picked the worse time of year to start riding for fun.
Firstly, well done on passing! Welcome to the club.
I think you’re definitely jumping the gun here. You’re bound to feel vulnerable; you’re inexperienced, the conditions are poor and you’re riding alone without the encouragement of your instructor. Take a step back for a minute and think rationally about things.
Firstly, in your shoes, I would make sure my chosen bike was up to the job. What I mean by that is having the correct bike for your experience with a decent set of tyres. For example; You’ll likely s
t your pants if you test ride a 1299 Panigale on Supercorsas on a frosty December day. Something like a CB650 with Pilot Road 4’s will instil much more confidence.
Secondly, don’t expect too much too soon. I remember when I first passed and I was properly nervous the first dozen or so times I took my bike out. I remember sitting on my bike breathing deeply wondering why I was so nervous! I’d say it was a mixture of fear and excitement in equal measure, but nevertheless!
Thirdly, get the best gear you can for your budget. You’ll enjoy riding much more if you know you’re adequately protected should the worst happen! Obviously more expensive doesn’t always mean better, but you know what I mean. A nice RST textile 2 piece at this time of year will instil more confidence then a pair of old jeans and a bomber jacket.
Anyway, that’s my opinion. Good luck with it all! Let us know how you get on.
I think you’re definitely jumping the gun here. You’re bound to feel vulnerable; you’re inexperienced, the conditions are poor and you’re riding alone without the encouragement of your instructor. Take a step back for a minute and think rationally about things.
Firstly, in your shoes, I would make sure my chosen bike was up to the job. What I mean by that is having the correct bike for your experience with a decent set of tyres. For example; You’ll likely s
t your pants if you test ride a 1299 Panigale on Supercorsas on a frosty December day. Something like a CB650 with Pilot Road 4’s will instil much more confidence. Secondly, don’t expect too much too soon. I remember when I first passed and I was properly nervous the first dozen or so times I took my bike out. I remember sitting on my bike breathing deeply wondering why I was so nervous! I’d say it was a mixture of fear and excitement in equal measure, but nevertheless!
Thirdly, get the best gear you can for your budget. You’ll enjoy riding much more if you know you’re adequately protected should the worst happen! Obviously more expensive doesn’t always mean better, but you know what I mean. A nice RST textile 2 piece at this time of year will instil more confidence then a pair of old jeans and a bomber jacket.
Anyway, that’s my opinion. Good luck with it all! Let us know how you get on.
I do 5-600 miles of commuting a week at the minute, been riding for a little over 3 years and done in excess of 30k miles.
I fug hate riding in this weather it's crap, dangerous and absolutely no fun at all in fact an hour ago I nearly lost it and went for some tarmac surfing coming around a bend I've done hundreds of times due to the greasy, cold roads. If I had a car licence the bike would be under cover.
Fast forward to the warmer, drier days and you couldn't put me in a car even if you paid me I absolutely love riding and would be gutted if I couldn't do it.
With the last couple of weeks you've definitely picked the worst time to even think about riding a bike never mind jumping on one for the first time.
I fu
g hate riding in this weather it's crap, dangerous and absolutely no fun at all in fact an hour ago I nearly lost it and went for some tarmac surfing coming around a bend I've done hundreds of times due to the greasy, cold roads. If I had a car licence the bike would be under cover.Fast forward to the warmer, drier days and you couldn't put me in a car even if you paid me I absolutely love riding and would be gutted if I couldn't do it.
With the last couple of weeks you've definitely picked the worst time to even think about riding a bike never mind jumping on one for the first time.
I past 6 weeks ago and am totally pissed off that I've not ridden for the past 2 weeks due to the st weather.
My heated grips make winter riding above 6 degrees a pleasure even in my summer gloves. You don't get these on learner bikes. A base layer is £25ish and makes a world of difference and I bet you never had one of those?
It is well worth it and if you master control of your bike in these conditions then you'll be a riding God come summer time. You just need the right gear And it's not expensive especially this time of year.
Get yourself a cheap commuter bike such as a bandit, sv650 or a hornet. Massively quick compared to a car but easy to handle. As i said above 6 degrees in the dry...ish for me is still a pleasure especially when the sun comes out. But without the base layer and heated grips I would never attempt it .
t weather. My heated grips make winter riding above 6 degrees a pleasure even in my summer gloves. You don't get these on learner bikes. A base layer is £25ish and makes a world of difference and I bet you never had one of those?
It is well worth it and if you master control of your bike in these conditions then you'll be a riding God come summer time. You just need the right gear And it's not expensive especially this time of year.
Get yourself a cheap commuter bike such as a bandit, sv650 or a hornet. Massively quick compared to a car but easy to handle. As i said above 6 degrees in the dry...ish for me is still a pleasure especially when the sun comes out. But without the base layer and heated grips I would never attempt it .
tom_e said:
You forgot the picture where you look like you've been smoking a crack pipe for the last 3 hours because your eyes are that red after having to do 50 miles down the M way with your visor up because the fog means it's worse than useless 
Been there done that!! "Ahh, that's just a little bit of moisture on my visor, I'll give that a quick wipe.." SMEEEEAR. fk. Now, I have the coice of looking through a visor that resembles frosted glass with HID and LED headlights blinding me and not being able to see anything. Or, visor up at 2 degrees and minus-fkingcold-degrees windchill directly to the eyes for 15 miles. Option 2 it is then!!! It's ok though, after a few miles your eyes stop watering as the tears have frozen and your eyeballs are bone dry AND your eyelids are frozen open.Yep, winter is awesome on a bike.
Oh and don't forget the newly laid tarmac on a roundabout near my work = cold tyres + new tarmac + never dry roads = two wheel drifts fer dayzzzz!!!!
It's no wonder I keep on browsing cars at this time of year. Another winter after this one and I think I'll be done commuting on a bike through winter, next winter will be my 5th winter, and probably 60k on bikes in total by that time.
tom_e said:
You forgot the picture where you look like you've been smoking a crack pipe for the last 3 hours because your eyes are that red after having to do 50 miles down the M way with your visor up because the fog means it's worse than useless
LOL Sure many others will have had this one .... I've arrived home with hands so totally numb from the cold and then nearly had tears in my eyes from the pain as they have warmed up !
jmcc500 said:
So last week I took my CBT and DAS, culminating in passing my Mod 1 & 2 on Friday. However, after a week of riding around in variously snow, wind, rain, ice and (occasionally) sunshine, I have come away not in love with biking (as my biking friends suggested I would.
Seemed to be very hard work to travel around in discomfort whilst feeling paranoid about everyone else on the road, on a machine that doesn’t seem entirely on your side (nasty moment on damp leaves highlighted how good 4 wheels can be).
So, at the moment that’s it for me and motorcycling. Am I wrong to give up before I’ve started? I now can’t imagine how I’d change my mind - I have no gear so can’t test ride anything to see if a different bike would make a difference (restricted er6n used for learning), and buying kit now seems like a potentially massive waste of money.
I really can’t see how you can make a judgement in one week, especially in the depths of winter.Seemed to be very hard work to travel around in discomfort whilst feeling paranoid about everyone else on the road, on a machine that doesn’t seem entirely on your side (nasty moment on damp leaves highlighted how good 4 wheels can be).
So, at the moment that’s it for me and motorcycling. Am I wrong to give up before I’ve started? I now can’t imagine how I’d change my mind - I have no gear so can’t test ride anything to see if a different bike would make a difference (restricted er6n used for learning), and buying kit now seems like a potentially massive waste of money.
For me, riding a motorcycle in one of life’s greatest pleasures, it’s about freedom, solitude, excitement and being part of a group of likeminded people. You can always turn up alone at a biker cafe and end up chatting to a couple of friendly strangers, owning a car just doesn’t give you access that level of camaraderie.
You need to persevere, either the bike is not for you or you need to build up your experience when the weather gets better, but please don’t just give up after a week,
MuscleSaloon said:
LOL
Sure many others will have had this one .... I've arrived home with hands so totally numb from the cold and then nearly had tears in my eyes from the pain as they have warmed up !
Done that too, hopping around at work because your fingers are in that much pain.Sure many others will have had this one .... I've arrived home with hands so totally numb from the cold and then nearly had tears in my eyes from the pain as they have warmed up !
Bought heated gloves, rode in -2 Celsius, never looked back!!
I passed in Dec 2014 and that day bought a fazer 600 boxeye model.
Rode it everywere all over that winter, Come the warmer less slippy roads I felt more than comfortable on bike and the enjoyment factor crept upwards somewhat.
I bought my mt09 tracer in Feb 2016 and broke it in by doing a round Ireland trip in under 24 hours in what ended up as -5c weather for the last 300 miles. Heated grips with good undergarments for the win.
This year the bike is under cover and I am using the car. 1st long weekend trip planned for 1st weekend in march.
Rode it everywere all over that winter, Come the warmer less slippy roads I felt more than comfortable on bike and the enjoyment factor crept upwards somewhat.
I bought my mt09 tracer in Feb 2016 and broke it in by doing a round Ireland trip in under 24 hours in what ended up as -5c weather for the last 300 miles. Heated grips with good undergarments for the win.
This year the bike is under cover and I am using the car. 1st long weekend trip planned for 1st weekend in march.
I did my DAS in the winter several years back and to be honest did not find an immediate appeal, and it was nothing to do with the weather. I got a bike fairly quickly, and was so nervous about riding it and dropping it that it took me 12 months and 8k miles before it "clicked" and I relaxed and started enjoying riding.
I don't ride now due to lack of time/personal commitments but miss it almost every week - and still can't bear to to sell my bike "just in case".
If you have nothing else stopping you riding I would strongly recommend you persist and give it a proper go - not all riders get the same reward out of biking, but almost all would agree it is in a totally different league to 4 wheels and that is worth experiencing properly if nothing else.
I don't ride now due to lack of time/personal commitments but miss it almost every week - and still can't bear to to sell my bike "just in case".
If you have nothing else stopping you riding I would strongly recommend you persist and give it a proper go - not all riders get the same reward out of biking, but almost all would agree it is in a totally different league to 4 wheels and that is worth experiencing properly if nothing else.
Leave the bike in the garage until spring, there is nothing to be gained by riding at this time of year unless you *have* to commute to work.
It's much more enjoyable when you can see where you are going, know what the road surface is like and you are not freezing your tits off.
It's much more enjoyable when you can see where you are going, know what the road surface is like and you are not freezing your tits off.
Edited by Jazoli on Tuesday 19th December 08:14
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